Title: The Bride of Death
Air date: March 6, 1938
Guest star: Margot Stevenson
Plot summary: A preacher, Rev. Colby, goes to the home of a rich old lady, Mrs. Ackley. He demands to see his daughter, Isabelle. Isabelle was once Mrs. Ackley's companion, but Isabelle is now being held in the mansion under mysterious circumstances. The mysterious circumstances have something to do with Mrs. Ackley's new companion, a sinister man who calls himself the Prophet of the Ancient One. Rev. Colby is denied entrance by the Prophet. He goes back to the village and preaches a sermon about Mrs. Ackley, once a pillar of the community, now held in some spell by a murderous cult—but his sermon is interrupted by an explosion.
Lamont Cranston reads the newspaper story about an explosion in a fishing village that killed Rev. Colby and ten of his parishioners. He and Margo Lane spring into action, coming to the fishing village and finding nervous townsfolk that are reluctant to talk to them. The Shadow confronts the Prophet, but the Prophet's goons kidnap Margo. The Shadow then sneaks into the Colby mansion, and confirms his worst suspicions: Isabelle Colby is indeed being held captive by the Prophet. And he is preparing her for a human sacrifice.
Notes: Margot Stevenson, who plays Isabelle, replaced Agnes Moorehead as Margo Lane three weeks later, and voiced Margo for 26 episodes in 1938.
Tropes:
- Cult: The Prophet of the Ancient One, who leads a cult that has two legit followers beyond the mind-controlled Mrs. Ackley.
- False Prophet: When the Prophet is defeated by The Shadow, his followers Aka and Matawa decide he must be a false prophet. So they stab him to death.
- Fauxshadowing: There are multiple references to the Prophet's scary attack panthers; the villagers express fear of them, and they can be heard roaring on multiple occasions. But as it turns out, they play no role in the denouement of the story at all.
- For Doom the Bell Tolls: A mournful church bell marks the funeral of the unfortunate Rev. Colby.
- Human Sacrifice: The Prophet of the Ancient One plans to make a human sacrifice of Isabelle Colby. It's apparently a real ritual of his cult, as Lamont says it's been done for years, but the Prophet's real motive is to get Mrs. Ackley to do it. Then after she goes to jail he'll get her money.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: Rev. Colby is giving his sermon, asking God for mercy for poor Mrs. Ackley, "who has strayed from the fol—", when the bomb goes off.
- Narrating the Obvious: A feature of radio drama, here seen when one of the Prophet's followers feels the need to tell the other that "the Prophet" has lowered his hood and is actually a beautiful woman (Margo).
- Right-Hand Attack Dog: The Prophet has two attack panthers, who scare the villagers. Surprisingly, he never uses them.
- Scam Religion: The Prophet's real motive behind the whole cult and the human sacrifice is to get Mrs. Ackley convicted of murder, so he can take possession of her fortune.
- Villain Opening Scene: The first scene has the Prophet facing down Rev. Colby and sending him home from the mansion. The Prophet then tells Mrs. Ackley that the reverend is going to die.
